Associate Research Scientist (PREP0004043) Full-time

Associate Research Scientist

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest and thus requires that such institutions be the recipients of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title: Nanocalorimetry for Semiconductors and Semiconductor Process Metrology

The work will entail: The candidate will join a multi-disciplinary team of scientists working to advance the current state-of-the-art in nanocalorimetry-based measurements and expand the technique's applicability to monitoring of semiconductor manufacturing processes. The goals of the project are to (1) improve upon existing nanocalorimetry measurement capabilities at NIST and (2) determine feasibility of using nanocalorimetry for in-situ monitoring of atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma-based processes. The major responsibilities of the candidate will include making improvements to the existing nanocalorimetry equipment and measurement capabilities. This includes, but is not limited to, modifying the existing instrumentation to provide better sensitivity and stability, developing corresponding data acquisition and analysis systems, performing measurements to determine thermal properties of nanoscale materials commonly found in semiconductor devices, and supporting the nanocalorimetry based semiconductor process metrology development including ALD and plasma.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Design and assemble new instrumentation to improve the accuracy, sensitivity, speed, and stability of experiments using NIST nanocalorimetry sensors
• Collaborate with team members on development, fabrication, and testing of new sensor designs and applications
• Publish results in refereed scientific journals and present results at scientific conferences and meetings

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in materials science, physics, chemistry, chemical engineering or related field
• Expertise with building and maintaining custom lab instrumentation required, knowledge of electronics, PCB layout, and analog circuit design would be a plus
• LabVIEW experience required, experience with FPGA systems would be a plus
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team